Jeb Bush: 'I'm not in favor of shaming women'

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Photos:Jeb Bush's life

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush waves as he takes the stage as he formally announces he is joining the race for president with a speech June 15, 2015, at Miami Dade College in Miami.

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Former Florida governor Jeb Bush shakes hands with attendees after speaking at the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference on February 27 in National Harbor, Maryland.

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Bush takes a selfie with a guest at a luncheon hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on February 18 in Chicago. Bush delivered his first major foreign policy speech at the event.

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Bush hands out items for Holiday Food Baskets to those in need outside the Little Havana offices of CAMACOL, the Latin American Chamber of Commerce on December 17 in Miami.

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Bush waves to the audience at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, on August 30, 2012, on the final day of the Republican National Convention.

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Bush (left) and wife Columba Bush attend the 2012 Lincoln Center Institute Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on March 7, 2012, in New York City.

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President Barack Obama (left) speaks about Bush (center) while visiting Miami Central Senior High School on March 4, 2011 in Miami, Florida. The visit focused on education.

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Bush (left) speaks with Brazilian President in charge Jose Alancar during a meeting at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, April 17, 2007. Bush was in Brazil to speak about sugar and ethanol business.

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Then-Texas Governor Rick Perry (center) testifies as Bush (right) and then-Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano (left) listen during a hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security on Capitol Hill October 19, 2005.

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Bush gives a thumbs up signal from his car as he leaves a local polling station after casting his vote in Coral Gables, Florida, November 5, 2002.

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Bush walks out of the West Wing after meeting with his brother, then-President George W. Bush, at the White House January 9, 2002. Governor Bush participated in the signing ceremony of the Everglades Protection Agreement.

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Then-Mexican President Vincente Fox (left) and Bush hold a press conference September 7, 2001, in Miami. Fox visited Florida to attend the Americas Conference and deliver a speech to speak about issues such as immigration.

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Then-President George W. Bush (right) is greeted by Jeb Bush on March 21, 2001, at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida. President Bush was in Orlando to attend the American College of Cardiology Annual Convention.

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Bush speaks during a press conference at the Carandolet Government Palace in Quito, January 18, 2006. Bush and a businessmen delegation were in a two-day visit to talk about a free trade agreement.

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Bush speaks to reporters after meeting with the Florida State Cabinet at the Florida State Capitol Building November 16, 2000, in Tallahassee, Florida.

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Then-President George W. Bush (left) and Jeb Bush (right), raise their arms onstage following a rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds, October 25, 2000, in Brandon, Florida.

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Jeb Bush (left) and then-President George W. Bush stand with their arms around each other's shoulders at a rally in Miami, Florida, September 22, 2000.

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Then-President George W. Bush (right) and Jeb Bush go through the line for strawberries during a stop at the Stawberry Festival March 12, 2000 in Plant City, Florida.

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The Bush family, (left to right) former U.S. President George W., former Florida Governor Jeb, former President George H.W. and his wife Barbara, watch play during the Foursomes matches September 25, 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts the site of the 33rd Ryder Cup Matches.

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Former President George H.W. Bush (second left), his wife Barbara Bush (left), their son Jeb Bush (center), then-first lady Hillary Clinton (second right), and former then-President Bill Clinton (right) look up to see the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team November 6, 1997 at the conclusion of the dedication ceremony of the George Bush Library in College Station, Texas.

Pella, Iowa (CNN)At a Wednesday Iowa rally, Jeb Bush addressed recent controversy over comments he made in his 1995 book that out-of-wedlock births were increasing because single mothers and fathers no longer faced public shaming.

Asked by an attendee why he would be in favor of shaming single mothers, Bush said, "I'm not in favor of shaming women. What I'm in favor of is shaming men who abandon their children."

"Women who bring up children by themselves do it heroically, they do it against all odds," Bush said. "Men who don't feel responsible for being part of their child's life create real strains on that family."

Bush went on to tout his record reforming child support laws and empowering families as Florida governor.

The presidential candidate first made his case in his 1995 book "Profiles in Character" -- which was published before he won the Florida governor's office -- in a chapter titled "The Restoration of Shame."

In an excerpt first cited by The Huffington Post last week, Bush wrote:

"One of the reasons more young women are giving birth out of wedlock and more young men are walking away from their paternal obligations is that there is no longer a stigma attached to this behavior, no reason to feel shame. Many of these young women and young men look around and see their friends engaged in the same irresponsible conduct. Their parents and neighbors have become ineffective at attaching some sense of ridicule to this behavior. There was a time when neighbors and communities would frown on out-of-wedlock births and when public condemnation was enough of a stimulus for one to be careful."

Wednesday's question signals that Iowan voters are taking note, and in an increasingly competitive primary, Bush faces an uphill battle in the early caucus state.

The remarks came at Bush's first major Iowa rally since declaring his candidacy. He spoke to hundreds at Molengracht Plaza in Pella, a Dutch-inspired town complete with windmills, authentic pastry shops, and an annual tulip festival.

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Bush also weighed in on the pending Obamacare ruling in Pella. Asked whether federal exchanges are legal, Bush said, "If you read the law, it doesn't appear like they are."

The Supreme Court could decide as soon as Thursday against the Obama administration over subsidies that help cover health insurance costs at the heart of Obamacare.

If the court rules federal exchanges unconstitutional, Bush said it would provide an "opportunity" to Republicans to repeal Obamacare and come up with an alternative.

"We (Republicans) also ought to be for replacing it with something that costs less, that adheres to our values, that provides portability, that eliminates the employer mandate, the employee mandate, all of this mind-numbing subsidies that are totally wacky, shifts power back to states," Bush said.

The former governor said health care plans are not one-size-fits-all and should be tailored on a state-by-state basis.